deathbird

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From a superstition of some North American Indians that it presages death. Compare Salentino Sicilian oceddu de la morte (owl, literally death bird) and Malagasy vorondolo (owl, literally ghost bird).

Noun[edit]

deathbird (plural deathbirds)

  1. Tengmalm's owl (Nyctala tengmalmi)